CARRBORO - On the first day of kindergarten many years ago, as the teacher went around the room asking all the kids their names, Peter Reitzes was worried.

When it was his turn, he just sat there quietly. Another student shouted out in jest, "Peter Cottontail!" His mother looked at him, wondering if he knew his name.

He knew his name just fine. But he was worried about how he would make the right sounds come out of his mouth.

"I grew up trying not to stutter," said Reitzes, 39. "The whole childhood is spent trying not to let other people know your secret."

In the end, Reitzes didn't let his difficulties with stuttering slow him down. He now works as a speech language pathologist at Hillandale Elementary School in Durham. And he wants stutterers everywhere to hear his message: It's OK to stutter.

He hosts a regular podcast called "StutterTalk," which he records in his home on Pathway Drive.

"StutterTalk" has produced about 300 podcasts in four years. One recent show featured a camp for young people who stutter called "Camp Our Time" in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Guests have also included celebrities who stutter, including actress Emily Blunt and television journalist John Stossel.

Reitzes said he started the podcast because he saw a need to hear other people talk about stuttering.

"Our goal was to bring self-help to the digital age," he said.

"StutterTalk" hosts also include a set of stutterers in their early 20s who submit their own podcast once a month.

Freelance journalist Barry Yeoman of Durham has appeared as a guest.

He says being in the company of others with the same difficulty has helped him deal with his stuttering.

"The key is to become a part of a supportive community of people who stutter," Yeoman said. "'StutterTalk' brings that community together."

Yeoman, 51, also likes that Reitzes and the show's other hosts let guests stutter and don't edit it out.

"Stuttering is accepted," Yeoman said. "It is embraced."

Stuttering affects more than 3 million Americans and more than 68 million people worldwide, according to the Stuttering Foundation.

Stuttering is believed to be the result of four factors: genetics; child development; neurophysiology, which is how people process speech and language; and family dynamics, including high expectations and a fast-paced lifestyle.

"The brain of a person who stutters functions differently than someone with fluent speech," said Rita Thurman, a speech language pathologist who leads the Triangle chapter of the National Stuttering Association.

Reitzes said his stuttering can get particularly bad when he is sick or tired.

One trick he uses sometimes is called voluntary stuttering, which he calls the "Beatles of speech tools."

Say for instance, he goes into a restaurant and prepares to order.

"If you look at the waitress and you go, 'Can I have the luh ... luh ... lasagna?' your intent is to do it on purpose, you're gonna get what you want," he said.

Thurman said "StutterTalk" is great for people who don't have support groups close by.

"For them to be able to listen to a podcast of a person stuttering openly and talking about stuttering...that's a great resource to them," she said.

Show listener Nathan Bailey , a student at the University of Central Arkansas, shares some of Reitzes' childhood struggles.

"I was very, very quiet in my classes and not many people even knew I stuttered," Bailey wrote in an email. "I was made fun of from time to time, and it made me feel helpless and alone."

So the 20-year-old did a Google search for stuttering and came across the podcast.

He says it's helped him feel braver and inspired. Bailey plans to work as a speech language pathologist just like Reitzes.

"'StutterTalk' has made me less worried about my future," Bailey wrote.

"StutterTalk" is a nonprofit and seeks donations to help fund production and travel to stuttering conferences. Reitzes plans to attend and record from international conferences, and the donations would help with the high travel costs.

"Talking about stuttering changed my life," he said, "and that's why I do this."